Stuff WE say + my fashion tip + and is there anything you would tell me NOT to get!?!

I’ve got a NEW BABY POST UP!! 30 week update plus a contest (the winner will get a new pair of running shoes or if you aren’t a runner then a gift card to your favorite store:)  Check it out HERE!!!!!

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HELLO!!! Let’s talk all about Wednesday for a minute!

This. Is. Us.  Another amazing episode and it is the thing that got me up out of bed and loving the run yesterday morning.

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Brooke woke up just as I was cooling down and pulling myself together after the episode.

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And then it was off to another day of school!

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And then Knox came home!  We rearranged our house a bit since we are growing so Knox got a new room and he is pretty excited about it!

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Then we hung out on the couch for a little while and Andrew put together his present from Mer!

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Along with some breaks in between dancing for Beretta kisses.

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Later on Andrew brought me a pumpkin spice donut.  He wins at life.  PS I had a sweet potato with chicken and bbq sauce yesterday for lunch… it has been a long time since I have had the lunch that I used to eat every single day.

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Yesterday seemed like the perfect day to take the kids up the canyon for a bike ride.

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And then a mini hike to see the waterfall!

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After the canyon we stopped by my parents’ house because the kids wanted to show off their bike riding skills!

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I get it Knox… this is just how I feel after a long bike ride too!

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My dinner was super fancy… grilled cheese (with jam on top;) and a smoothie (this is the protein powder and greens that I love for my smoothies)!

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*My current fashion tip—>  I am now grabbing clothes from Andrew’s side of the closet because I don’t feel like buying anymore maternity clothes and his stuff is way more comfortable anyways.  I’m sure he is loving having his t-shirts taken all of the time (at least I am extra careful to not spill anything on them because all of my clothes get food/toothpaste stains on the belly portion).

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Andrew showed me this clip the other day and it had me laughing pretty hard… it got me thinking about all of the words/terms/things I talk about that probably sound so weird to non-runners/non-triathletes.

 

A few of these terms:  Fartleks, repeats, tempo runs, lactic acid, pool running, yassos, 1600s, compression socks, PRs, hitting the wall, negative splits, chafing, carbo-loading, bandit… and the list goes on and on!

We sure have our own little language, don’t we?

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Random topic ahead…  I’m going to go to Trader Joe’s in the next few days (we don’t have one close so when I do go, I plan it out in advance big time;) and I have an important question for you…

There are lists all over the place about the absolute BEST THINGS at TJ’s (like mine is here) but what about things that you haven’t liked from Trader Joe’s? Is there anything you have tried there that you didn’t love?  Let me know so we don’t buy it.  

Brooke started out her Trader Joe’s attendance at a very young age… when she was just a LITTLE baby we lived about .5 miles away from one and her and I would walk there all of the time together and stroll the aisles:)

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Another reminder to check out (and enter the contest) my latest BABY POST!!!

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I would love to hear any fall traditions that you have (so I can copy you too;)!! Share away because I’m always looking for new ones to add to the list   (plus, our Christmas traditions this year are going to be scaled way back compared to normal so I want to get in some really fun fall ones)!

Something at TJ’s that you have tried and didn’t like?

Stuff runners/triathletes say that non-runners/non-triathletes probably never include in their vocabulary?!

Favorite sweet potato toppings (now that I am liking them again, I think I need to start experimenting)?  Anybody that does not like sweet potatoes?

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84 comments

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We live in Charlotte so our fall tradition is to spend a weekend in the mountains in the fall. It’s a 2 hour drive for us to drive to Blowing Rock!

Don’t get the pumpkin joe joes at Trader Joe’s! My kids love sweets and refused to eat them!!

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Oh Erin, that sounds perfect!! When are you doing your weekend this year? That sounds perfect. Oh good to know about the joe joes because I was going to try those. THANK YOU!

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We’re not going until November 11th this year because my boys are playing soccer this year (6 and 9 yrs old). Oh and my kids say the Halloween Joe Joes are super good!! And I was a little too excited you responded to my comment ?I’ve been reading your blog for years!

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Gotta make sure you have a fire pit with marshmallows at least once in the fall! And hike as often as you can to see leaves!

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YES YES YES… love the fire pit/marshmallow idea! I need that! I hope your day is a great one Loribeth!

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Fall traditions in our house include: apple cider and donuts, toasting pumpkin seeds, and baking baking baking!!

I tried siracha bbq sauce and I didn’t like it — but I don’t like siracha, so that’s probably why.

I love sweet potatoes and I’m going to try the whole “sweet potato toast” thing — with almond butter and honey.

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You are so right on the apple cider and donuts. That is fall. Apple cider donuts are the most superior donuts in the world.

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I need to try the sweet potato toast too… let me know how yours turns out! Now I am craving apple cider and donuts (I’ll text Andrew to bring me home some today;)! Good to know about the bbq sauce… thanks Susie!

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Such a beautiful waterfall hike! The trees are taking forever to change here, so it still feels a bit like summer!

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Get the 21 seasoning salute at TJ’s!! It’s SO good and we put it on burgers all the time. I’ve tried it on roasted potatoes as well and it’s good. I also love the unexpected cheddar cheese, whole wheat pizza dough and the pizza sauce they make.
I’ve mentioned this before in the comments, but one tradition I love is a turkey trot on Thanksgiving morning! It gets you moving and totally offsets all of the food that you will eat later on ;)
I think one thing runners say that non-runners don’t understand is “I only have ___ miles today!” as if running that amount is completely normal. Oh and fartleks is a weird term too.

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People always look at me like I’m crazy when I start a sentence with “On my run this morning” when our conversation is taking place in the morning. They’re baffled that I get up so early before work to run! And yes, “repeats” is definitely one I’ll get weird looks about if people ask me how much I ran that morning, and I say something like, “Oh, I did x amount mile repeats.” They’re confused as to why anyone would run more than one!

Fall tradition: haunted houses. I LOVE haunted houses and need to find a good one this year!

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Ok, so I have never commented but I take Trader Joe’s super seriously! You MUST buy the cornbread crisp crackers. I live a 2 minute walk from Trader Joe’s and I buy two bags of them every time I go in. So yummy to eat plain, use them as a crunchy item in a big salad, eat with cheese. Obsessed.

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AHHHH I am so happy you commented! THANK YOU KATE. Okay, I have been craving cornbread like crazy (my mom is making some one Sunday because I told her about my craving). Those crisp crackers sound amazing. THANK YOU and I am totally going to get those (ehhh 5 bags of those)! Have a great day Kate!

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Do you blog fulltime?

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I do! You can read more about that here:

https://hungryrunnergirl.com/2017/02/life-as-a-blogger-why-i-started-my-tips-and-biggest-recommendation.html

Have a great day Rachel!

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Do not get the frozen peppers. I thought it would be a super easy add for omelets and stir frys, but peppers do not freeze well at all. Total pepper mush. I was so bummed.

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GOOD TO KNOW… thank you Pam!!!! That does not sound good at all! I hope you have a fabulous day Pam!

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I have to disagree. The frozen peppers are a staple in my freezer and I’ve never had a mush problem!

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I love sweet potatoes but don’t really like stuff on top of them – just a dab of butter and a sprinkle of salt and pepper – sauces and toppings and stuff cover up the aweswome sweet potato taste. I do however love to put them in things…Chorizo Sweet Potato Chili, Sweet Potato Chicken Stew, etc.

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TJ Failures for me—the Matcha chocolate bar and the Birthday Cake chocolate bar. HOWEVER, a big hit was the S’mores chocolate bar thing. Incredible. We got one of those big danish ring things that come in the big glycerine bag. I love sweets, and it was okay but not the greatest. I do love Trader Joe’s, but their sweets aren’t always the greatest. Not enough sugar and naughty ingredients, I guess. ha ha

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Thank you for letting me know… I need to try the s’mores chocolate bar (that sounds amazing)! Good to know about the danish ring, thank you! I hope your Thursday is a great one Jen!

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You have GOT to try their horseradish hummus! I tried bc it was advertised as “tangy,” which sounded so strange for hummus… and as soon I tasted it, I was hooked.

To be honest, the Simply Lite dark chocolate bars are eh, taste like weird nothing but kind of chocolate. Go for the real thing!!

I haven’t tried much because a lot is expensive (grad student here ha), but mm.. I’ve heard the cookie butter is amazing, but never tried it. It’s hard to think of things I didn’t like.. I’m not a fan of the banana muffins, but the blueberry (I think?) morning muffins that have the strong-arm man on the label are great!

Not too big a fan of the individual Greek yogurts; they actually have a lot of sugar, and I just like my Greek yogurt with natural sugar like blueberries etc.

The TJ Soy milk actually isn’t that good. The almond milk is great!!

Some of the expensive flavored seltzers aren’t that good imo.. the TJ brand ones are good.

On the marinara: the cheapest, TJ is way better than the rest imo. Same with the green and red salsas– and DEF try the green salsa if you haven’t!! Tomatillos changed the game for me! They’re so tasty!!

You go girl!! Enjoy!!

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Okay, you are the best… thank you so much for sharing your favorites (and not so favorites)! I will be staring at your comment as I walk through the store:) I hope you have an amazing day and I hope grad school is going AMAZING!!

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Hahah thanks!! I wish I had more– I’m reading all these comments and learning, so thank YOU! SUCH a good Q!!

Of course every time I go I always end up with way more than I set out to get hahaha!

Enjoy!!

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Oh p.s.

It’s the blueberry wheat bran muffins!! The banana muffin is the one that has the strong-arm man on them…oops. :3 sorry!!

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P.p.s.
(Clearly haven’t gone in a while.. moved to a new location and go to Aldi’s now instead :3. TJ is far :'(.)

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Cookie. Butter. Don’s ask questions… just buy it.

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I 100% agree!

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It’s funny because we have a Trader Joes right down the road from me and I’m not obsessed with it! I feel like a bad healthy living blogger, fire me now!

That grilled cheese intrigues me, I might need to give it a try!

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BAHAHA YOU are NOT a bad healthy living blogger:) Diner food > TJs right?! I hope your day is a beautiful one Hollie! PS LOVED your care free training post… oh and try the grilled cheese soon!

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Love that family pic with the waterfall in the background!!

Fall traditions in Texas are complaining about how hot it is and how we really don’t have fall. Probably not something you want to copy. When we finally get one of those perfect Fall mornings, we are happy all day! The thing I like best about Fall is hot chocolate.

I’m a little disappointed with TJ’s right now. They DISCONTINUED my favorite thing…Yogurt Stars! I tried their pizza dough, sauce, etc and didn’t really care for it.

Sweet potatoes are my everything! I like to top mine with avocado, cilantro and sea salt. If I have shredded chicken or taco meat that goes on there too.

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Come visit Utah Elizabeth and do some fall stuff with us:) I DID NOT KNOW THEY Discontinued those… Brooke is going to be so bummed! Well, that sounds like the perfect sweet potato… thank you!

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HA! Utah is on my list of places to visit. You are winning me over with the beautiful outdoor pics and the COOKIES!! Who knew there were so many good cookie places in Utah??

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I have been to TJ’s maybe twice in my life – I hate to say this, but I wasn’t too impressed. A lot of the food is super processed and I feel like it’s almost a “status” thing. I hope that made sense!
I shared my fall bucket list last week – https://www.hornestateofmind.com/fall-bucket-list-2017/
I love sweet potatoes with butter and brown sugar. So delicious!

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Picked up the savory popcorn last week – it was just meh. However, the pumpkin ravioli and autumn squash pasta sauce is delish!

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Good to know!! Thanks Amy and that ravioli and pasta sauce is calling my name… I need all of the pumpkin and pasta these days! Have a beautiful day Amy!

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Meh to the ranch chickpeas. Not nearly ranch flavored enough.

Avocado, lime, salt, pepper, paprika on the sweet potato.

I talked about fueling with my mom last week and really threw her for a loop. Apparently, normal people call this eating.

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Okay, that sounds heavenly on a sweet potato.. I have to try that, thank you Kathy! HAHAH eating? What is that;) Have a great day Kathy!

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our fave fall tradition is apple picking :) ok so we’ve only gone the past two years, but it’s become a new favorite tradition for fall! it looks like knox is loving his new room!

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Fall tradition in So Cal is praying for rain! This is fire season for us, temps this weekend will be in the 90s and if it’s windy with low humidity it can get pretty scary. We occasionally get headlines like “simultaneous combustion of manure causes barn fire…”

Have you tried Trader Joe’s butternut squash ravioli? We love it! I top it with sage browned butter (recipe here: http://www.theorganickitchen.org/handmade-butternut-squash-ravioli-with-sage-browned-butter/) I haven’t taken the time to make my own ravioli, TJs is really good!

Love the video! Les trains with power on his bike so I know a bunch of crazy terms like watts per kilo, FTP (functional threshold power), percent of max, etc. I often feel like the girl at the counter, just listen and nod… and roll my eyes when he’s not looking ;)

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So glad you reminded me about the butternut squash ravioli, soooo good!

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2 meal related traditions we did growing up:

My grandma on my dads side always did a skeleton soup party before we left for trick or treating. She would make witch finger bread sticks, mummies in a blanket and the chicken noodle soup that she would hide plastic skeletons in. We’ve done this every single year of my entire life and I think that even though she passed away this year we are still doing it. If not I’m going to do it for my kids or maybe for the neighbor kids or something. We will see.

Then my grandma on my moms side did mystery dinner. She made dinner and had us all sit down in the basement so that we couldn’t see what it was. We each had a menu and had to order 3 courses by writing them down on the back of the menu. Everything was on the menu including utensils in code names (like whitch’s brew, Skelton fingers, etc.) then my grandparents would put all the meals together and serve them to us. It was super funny because sometimes you would get something like soup or a salad and no utensils to eat it with and you had to get creative.

I hope that made sense lol you can email me if not.

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Mystery dinners are SO much fun! We’ve done it not just for fall but for birthday celebrations or in the late winter to lift the winter doldrums. SO much fun!

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They really are so much fun!

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Wow! You have THE best Grandparents ever! :) Gonna have to copy some of this for my kids! :)

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I really did! Both of my grandmas had a big part in raising me too because I lived literally 2 houses away from one and around the block from ther other. It made my childhood so fun.

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Okay, that skeleton soup party sounds amazing! I totally want to do that and I’m so glad you guys are still doing it this year! That is really special. I love the mystery dinner too… such fun ideas!! Thank you for sharing, I can’t wait to try these out:) THANKS JENNY and I hope you are staying warm today (I froze on my run today haha)!

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The pumpkin bread mix was overly spiced, IMO. I generally don’t buy mixes and pre-made items because I like to control the ingredients. I love that large 72% dark chocolate bar though.

A town we like to visit hosts a scarecrow competition each year. We go look at the scarecrows, drink cider (hot or cold depending on the weather), and wander through the local shops. We also drive upstate to see the leaves and get apples. I used to pick them but I’d end up with waaay to many.

Non-running friends don’t understand pictures of the shoes after a run.

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Don’t get their dark chocolate covered raisins. Stick with the kind you like because they are not the same.

Definitely get the peanut butter pretzels, unexpected cheddar cheese, any of their trail mixes, baby bananas, baby pineapples, butternut squash ravioli, pumpkin ice cream, dark chocolate sea salt almonds, very cherry berry frozen fruit mix.

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Okay, thank you for telling me about the dark chocolate covered raisins… I’ll stick with the Costco brand. THANKS for all of the recommendations too… I can’t wait! Have an awesome Thursday Caroline!

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I’ve honestly never had anything at TJs that I didn’t care for, so I’m no help in that department.

I love to mix cooked sweet potatoe with peanut butter and a little bit of maple syrup and cinnamon for a sweet treat.

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Well, that sounds heavenly… I need to try that Jessica! HAHA there is only one thing I can think that I really didn’t love at TJ’s too (some weird meringue thing) so you aren’t alone in your love for TJ’s:) Have a great day!

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I love everything that TJ’s sells that is covered in chocolate but for you ESPECIALLY the chocolate raisins. They are the best there is (in my opinion).

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I LOVE the frozen chocolate filled croissants at TJs. You defrost them overnight and cook them in the morning. A nice hot treat in the morning. SO good! The almond ones are ok but the chocolate ones are AMAZING! I love the unexpected cheddar too. It isn’t too far from us but is not on our beaten path so we don’t go often. When I do I try to go before lunch and pick something from their refrigerated prepared section. YUM!

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I am drooling over reading about the frozen chocolate filled croissants… I NEED! Thank you Bridgette and we will have to get the unexpected cheddar too! Can’t wait!

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We don’t really get to experience Fall in the Bahamas, but I still love everything pumpkin spice! (at least our starbucks still brings it in) When we got over to FL I hit up target/anywhere for everything pumpkin spice and fill my suitcase haha. (side note, targets pumpkin spice granola is delicious) So non weather based, my fav. fall things are college football, candy corn, my class singing fall songs and doing pumpkin activities, and celebrating thanksgiving (in a non traditional but still fun way since it’s not a holiday here)..and the rare day we get to wear a sweater/jeans without sweating!

What I found last visit at trader joes: Everything bagel seasoning…so good sprinkled on salads, avocado, tomatoes, anything really!

maybe you can post a recap of the best things/what you get at trader joes after you go so I can make my list for the next visit ;)

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I love fall traditions and always looking for more ideas, so I am definitely reading through your comment section for this! :) Something my kids love is Halloween; we used to create their costumes and it was always fun for family and friends to see what we came up with for that year. Before they started school, we would meet at my sister-in-law’s house for dinner, treats, and trick-or-treating with all the kids. My kids LOVE Halloween because of all of this. They also love Gingerbread cookies so I do that around this time every year. They love Marshmallow pops so I do different characters for their b-day and/or for christmas to hand out to their classmates. We also decorate cookies which you already do and we make salt dough ornaments. As for Trader Joes, there’s kind of a lot of misses for us but we do love their Hickory BBQ chips…is THE best ever. We also love the dried mangoes and pineapples there. Have a great day, Janae!

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I’m thinking about taking the kids apple picking this weekend and then we’ll have to come up with some fun (gluten free) apple recipes!

Sweet potatoes are my thing! I just made some with a baked egg cooked into them with a bit of salt and sriarcha and they were yummy! I still think that chicken, bbq sauce, cheddar cheese, and plain greek yogurt are my favorite toppings. Oh, and I love them cubed and roasted with a bit of truffle salt, OMG so good!!

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I wore my husbands shirts towards the end of my pregnancy too. I remember one time, there was this one shirt he never wore. EVER. And I had it all planned out in my head that I was going to wear it the next day when I had to go somewhere. It would look nice with leggings. So the next day, he wore it !!! Given the scared look on his face, I assume my reaction was nothing short of the Exorcist. I wigged out, then cried, then wigged out, clearly he had it out for me…..pregnancy hormones on the real deal. I mean, how dare he wear his own shirt on the day I wanted to.

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I would love to hear any fall traditions that you have (so I can copy you too;)!! Share away because I’m always looking for new ones to add to the list (plus, our Christmas traditions this year are going to be scaled way back compared to normal so I want to get in some really fun fall ones)!

we do apple picking and pumpkin picking, along with a corn maze visit, hay ride, the whole 9 yards. it’s great.

Something at TJ’s that you have tried and didn’t like?

i haven’t been to TJ’s in a very long time!

Stuff runners/triathletes say that non-runners/non-triathletes probably never include in their vocabulary?!

i think you covered it all altho i’m not certain i haven’t really been running for very long and i’m typically on my own.
from our group’s coach “we’re going to do these 400s at 5K pace, we’re going to do these 800s at 5K pace, we’re going to do these 1200s at 5K pace” – our speedwork is all about 5K pace :) and we are mostly working on longer distance runs.

Favorite sweet potato toppings (now that I am liking them again, I think I need to start experimenting)? Anybody that does not like sweet potatoes?

don’t have one?

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Trader Jo’es has these fall pumpkin cookies (they are really thin) and have pumpkin seeds in them. Not too sweet and SO GOOD. I bought 5 bags to take to Spain with me so…… they’re good. Also, love their fore roasted tomato soup! And so many other things…..

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TJ’s frozen salmon burgers are delicious! And my kids love the Chocolate Chip Brownie and Oat Bars. Also the TJ’s brand chocolate chips – they are like twice the size of normal chocolate chips and therefore perfect for snacking on lol.

As for fall activities, check your area for any local pumpkin carving displays. We have a great local farm that carves hundreds and hundreds of pumpkins and displays them in their barn for people to walk through and look at. There are also some larger scale pumpkin displays like this in certain areas – http://www.theglowjackolantern.com/

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Oh – and I also make my kids mummy dogs for a pre-Halloween meal. Cut strips of prepared pizza dough and wrap them around hot dogs, then bake for about 15-20 minutes. When they come out of the oven you can make little eye with ketchup or mustard. Always a hit.

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I love putting almond butter, peanut butter, or sunflower seed butter on sweet potatoes!

We live in Vermont and there are apple trees everywhere, so it has been a fun tradition to go pick apples for free! We also like to go on hikes to see the leaves change. I have a 9 month old and she is loving all the leaves and colors.

As far as Trader Joe’s, I like their pesto gouda cheese, their microwaveable Indian food (the naan is pretty good), and my husband likes the mac and cheese balls (also frozen). Wasn’t really a fan of their cheese tortellini though.

Have a great day!

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Omgoodness, Janae!! My boyfriend lives fairly close to the trader joes and he swears I only like him because of the trader joe’s being so close by (I also live in Utah county and it’s no fun driving over that point if you don’t have to!)!
My kids and I LOVE their mochi balls! My favorite flavor is the green tea but the kids like the traditional strawberry and chocolate flavors. We also LOVE the TJ’s veggie straws. Their frozen pizza is super delish! And my family will now only have the trader joe’s 3 cheese marinara sauce on spaghetti night!
Happy shopping!

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TJ’s cookie butter sandwich cookies are out. of. this. world. A MUST.

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Breakfast stuffed sweet potatoes are so good! Take a roasted sweet potato and top with scrambled eggs, cheese, avo, salsa. It is so filling and simple to make!

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Fall traditions: in Michigan, we have cider mills…and I think other people don’t have these wonderful places?! Open Labor Day til Thanksgiving, they harvest and press fresh apple cider, sell apple pies, fresh donuts, and caramel apples. I always must have at least one caramel apple (with peanuts) each fall, and a few trips for cider and donuts generally happen too.

Can’t think of anything bad at TJs. Mine are a short trip away and I don’t go often enough!

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Everything Bagel Spice is life changing. Buy a bunch of them & put it on eeeeeverything. I have so many loves at TJ’s ;) That’s my newest obsession though by far! Pumpkin crisps are very good, I pretty much just eat everything in that store!

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I don’t find TJ’s “fresh” fish to be very fresh :( Their paper towels and toilet paper aren’t great.
But I absolutely LOVE their chocolate and cashew nut mix in the little snack bags, the sparkling blood orange drink, the pre-made pizza doughs, frozen french toast (great for school mornings topped w/ fruit), and their frozen naan bread with any of the frozen Indian foods.

Now I’m hungry!! :)

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Hello! I adore your blog! I always look forward to reading it. Things I didn’t like a Trader Joe’s—I think only cold brew coffee pops. I love so many things there—musts are Gorgonzola crackers, dark chocolate lover’s chocolate bar, pumpkin yogurt, tomato and red pepper soup, and unexpected cheddar. My husband loves them orange chicken and frozen pizza too! They have a lot of great staples for good prices too! Have fun when you go!

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Their bike pics are too cute!!
Athletes totally speak a different language. We train with power meters, so we speak a lot in terms of wattage! It is always funny to throw out how many “watts” you are doing for specific parts of workouts: Batmans, Pyramids….I thought running had crazy terms (okay, Fartleks take the cake), but cycling has a lot of strange ones too!

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Okay so my BFF and I go annually and buy all of the pumpkin products at TJs and share them. We don’t love the pumpkin soup crackers, the pumpkin almond milk (too sweet, though the flavor is good), the pumpkin salad dressing (also too sweet) and the pumpkin baking mixes (IMO you can make them better from scratch without too much more effort)!

The GOOD: pumpkin spiced pumpkin seeds (Amazing on a salad w/ goat cheese, spinach, chicken, and roasted sweet potatoes or squash and balsamic glaze from TJs), pumpkin biscotti, pumpkin cream cheese/bagels, pumpkin tortilla chips, pumpkin butter (so good on cottage cheese or toast), autumn squash sauce/pumpkin ravioli (good with a ton of sauteed spinach served w/ it!), this pumpkin walks into a bar, and the pumpkin waffles!

Happy shopping!!

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I love TJs and there arent too many things I dont like. Two fails for me though – the 5 seed almond bars sounded good in theory but I just found them to be yucky, and the dark chocolate pumpkin spice caramels. I normally love caramels and anything pumpkin spice but for some reson, these just didnt hit the spot for me. Happy shopping!

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Get the pumpkin butter (it’s like a pumpkin jelly / jam) — it is life changing!

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Chili lime chicken burgers are quite tasty. Unexpected cheddar is a favorite in my house as well as the chili spiced dried mango.

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The pumpkin spice salted caramel chocolates. Don’t do it. They just didn’t work. ?

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Non-runners would never say “it’s JUST x amount of miles”.

I love baking sweet potatoes and then putting crock pot salsa chicken (chicken breasts, salsa and taco seasoning. easy peasy) on top with spinach, cheese and whatever else is sounding good that day. Even just those two things are enough. I have some turkey chili I made this week that is lasting me a loonngg time since it’s just me eating it and I was thinking that would be really good over sweet potatoes too.

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oh! And for Fall traditions, last year I went with some friends to a little town an hour or so south of us and they had hay rides over to their pumpkin patch and cute games for kids and stuff. They also had THE MOST DELICIOUS apple cider donuts. Oh my. I still think about them often. I need to ask my friend what the place was called and I can let you know.

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People have told me we have our own language but I think it is just our accents ;) lol

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Fall is my favorite time of year! I love pumpkin- -anything! :).
We r a family of three and our tradition (the last several years) has been a Thanksgiving with just us. I make deer blackstrap (chicken-fried for my husband, baked for my daughter and myself) and my daughter plans and bakes the dessert….
And sweet potatoes: cut in cubes and baked with garlic salt and mustard for dipping :). Also- baked whole with some cinnamon and maple syrup.

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Oh my goodness, I LOVE the stuffed octopus in Knox’s room! Where did you get that?

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I stole Ross’ hoodies when I was pregnant with Annabelle in the winter and I wore his t – shirts and basketball shorts when I was pregnant with Felicity and Evan in the Summer. Such is life. I’m not getting new clothes when there is 10 weeks left!

That donut looks amazing!

I just finished This Is Us today and also got choked up at the end. Ross walked by and I had to compose myself real quick so I wouldn’t be mocked.

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FYI….http://carrotsncake.com/2017/10/favorite-trader-joes-staples-make.html
This had me drooling all over the place!

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